Tobetsu Ecological Community - ESD in action

We began our ESD experience with Mr. Mikkihikko Yamamoto. He is considered a green hero in Hokkaido. He is the director of the Tobetsu Ecological Community Center, an NPO (Non-Profit Organization). He has developed a network in his community to promote ESD. His network includes the owner of an organic bakery, the owner of a construction company that builds green homes, the Miyajima Wetlands Education Center, Domin no mori Nature Park and many elementary and junior school teachers and parents from the area. The most important take home message for me is that to be successful in our ESD efforts, the entire community must be involved. Our efforts to create a sustainable society must be modeled after nature; we must create interconnecting systems within systems, so that when one individual or organization moves or ceases, the whole does not fall apart.